About the School of Nursing
Joseph F. McCloskey School of Nursing at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Schuylkill County is a full-time three-year non-resident dual enrollment program with Alvernia University. The educational program includes one year (two semesters) of university courses and two years (six terms) of nursing and university courses. The nursing course component builds on a base of 28 credits from Alvernia University – Schuylkill Campus. Required courses completed at other colleges and universities will be considered for transfer prior to enrollment. Graduates of the program will receive both an RN diploma and an Associate Degree in Applied Science. Graduates qualify to take the NCLEX-RN Licensure Examination.
Proven History
The School of Nursing was established in 1895 with the incorporation of the Pottsville Hospital, which later became The Pottsville Hospital and Warne Clinic, then Schuylkill Medical Center South Jackson and now Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Schuylkill S. Jackson Street, part of Lehigh Valley Health Network in Schuylkill County. The school has graduated over 2,500 graduates and continues to be the primary educator of registered nurses for Schuylkill and surrounding counties.
Health System Focused
Located in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, a small city in rural Schuylkill County, the school is on the Lehigh Valley Hospital - Schuylkill South Jackson Street Campus, a complex of numerous buildings where comprehensive health care services are provided to the surrounding community. These services afford the student the opportunity to learn and gain experience in varied patient care settings such as medical-surgical, perioperative, maternal-child, mental health, emergency care, home health and a variety of clinics and ancillary health services. With a unique combination of extensive classroom learning and clinical experience, the Joseph F. McCloskey School of Nursing graduate is prepared to meet the challenges of present and future patient care.
The diploma nursing program at Lehigh Valley Health Network at the Joseph F. McCloskey School of Nursing located in Pottsville, PA is accredited by the: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) 3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326 (404) 975-5000
The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the diploma nursing program is Continuing Accreditation.
View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program.
Joseph F. McCloskey School of Nursing in Schuylkill County maintains provisional approval status with the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing. The school is a member of the National League for Nursing, the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, and the National Coalition of Hospital Associated Schools and Colleges of Nursing.
Learning Environment
Never before have there been so many exciting opportunities in the nursing profession. You can now take the step to become a registered nurse at the Joseph F. McCloskey School of Nursing. The School of Nursing is located at Washington and Jackson streets. It is a commuter school and houses classrooms, a computer laboratory, a library, and faculty and administrative offices. All classrooms are equipped with audio-visual teaching technology. In addition, the new state of the art School of Nursing Simulation Center is located adjacent to the School of Nursing building within the Lehigh Valley Hospital – Schuylkill complex.
LVH–Schuylkill S. Jackson Street and LVH–Schuylkill East Norwegian Street provide students with clinical experiences which complement classroom instruction. An additional LVHN clinical site (LVH – Hazleton) and off-campus sites and agencies are used to further expand experience and learning.
While some off-campus experiences are located within walking distance of the school, others will require access to a car. Car-pooling is encouraged whenever possible. However, each student is responsible for arranging transportation to off-campus clinical sites.
The student body consists of individuals, male and female, of varied ages, educational backgrounds and life experiences. In addition to learning, students often establish friendships that last a lifetime.